The present invention relates to an air conditioner unit for a vehicle, and more particularly to a casing structure of an air conditioner for a vehicle.
Some of vehicular air conditioner units are arranged to supply independently conditioned airs to right and left areas near front seats, respectively. Such an air conditioner unit is generally requested to be compact. In order to satisfy such request, it is preferable to provide a plurality of blending portions for blending hot air and cool air in a casing unit. This arrangement enables the air conditioner to deliver conditioned air to the plural areas in a vehicle compartment. In order to provide a plurality of portions for blending hot air and cool air in a casing unit of the air conditioner unit, it is necessary to provide at least one partition plate for defining independent passages in the casing so as to supply independently blended air to the passages passes, respectively. A plurality of doors such as mode doors for varying airflow passing through the respective passages are installed to the respective passages. Generally, a mode door is a door for opening and closing a blowing-out port opened at the casing directed toward a passenger compartment and includes a VENT outlet and a foot outlet. Further, the thus arranged conventional unit for independently conditioning and delivering air by each independent passage is called an independent air conditioner unit. A unit for supplying same conditioned air to right and left areas is called a standard air conditioner unit. With the independent air conditioner unit, it becomes possible to deliver differently conditioned airs to right and left areas of front seats in a vehicle passenger compartment, respectively. This conventional independent air conditioner unit is generally arranged to install a partition plate in a casing of the unit for the purpose of defining the plural independent passages. Therefore, it is necessary to provide linked doors connected with each other while locating the partition plate therebetween. As shown in FIG. 10, such linked doors 101 and 102 are installed to a partition plate 103 in a manner of sandwiching the partition plate 103 with shafts 111 and 112 of the linked doors 101 and 102 and engaging the shafts 111 and 112.
However, this installation structure requires plural parts for the linked doors, and therefore the production cost thereof is increased. On the other hand, even if the linked doors are integrally formed into one piece, it is necessary to provide an installation slot for the integrally formed doors at the partition plate. However, this slot degrades a partition performance of the partition plate for the respective passages.
Further, the partition plate is generally positioned in the casing by being sandwiched by a pair of casing members as shown in FIG. 11. More specifically, a Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. H8-104126 discloses a partition plate positioning structure of an air conditioner unit. Case connecting portions 241 and 242 of the casing members are formed into a flanged shape as shown in FIG. 11. Further, both casing members have stepped portions 241a and 242a for defining a partition plate positioning groove to which a peripheral portion of the partition plate is inserted.
However, it is necessary to further increase thickness of the connecting portions 241 and 242 according to the provision of such stepped portions 241a and 242a. This may degrade a quality of the molding of the casing member while increasing the quantity of plastic resin for molding the casing. Furthermore, this conventional structure is not so suitable in view of assembling the casing and the partition plate.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a casing unit which is for a vehicular independent air conditioner unit and enables decreasing a production cost thereof and improving an assembly easiness.
An aspect of the present invention resides in a casing unit which is of an air conditioner for a vehicle and comprises a casing, a partition plate, a bearing portion, and a door unit. The casing comprises a first casing member and a second casing member. The partition plate is installed in the casing. The bearing portion is formed at a periphery of said partition plate and a C-shaped cross section having an opening. The door unit comprises a shaft and a plurality of doors integral to the shaft. The shaft is rotatably installed to the bearing portion.
Another aspect of the present invention resides in a casing unit which is of an air conditioner for a vehicle and comprises a casing, a partition plate and partition plate supporting portions. The casing comprises a first casing member and a second casing member. The partition plate in installed in the casing. The partition plate supporting portions are integrally formed with the first and second casing members, respectively and sandwich a peripheral portion of said partition plate.